Smollensky's Bar, Docklands, London

Very expensive, noisy, and far too busy. Not the best place for a relaxing drink, but you’re in with all the rowdy suited bankers on a Thursday or Friday night…

Overpriced and noisy. Only redeeming feature is its proximity to the tube which makes it easy to get home.

This is a good place on a Friday evening in Canary Wharf. Depending on what music you like! Its loud but if you’re up for it you can have a little dance which is nice as the music is fun ranging from Amy Winehouse to Bob Marley! Until about 10.30pm when it turns into dance music. To be fair I always leave at this point as its not really my thing but its pretty fun up to then. The bar staff are friendly and kind. Never eaten here but the food looks nice!
The place is SO over priced though!

Yes this bar is nice. Pretty good cocktails too. But there are a feel things that let it down for me.

Firstly, those bar stools. I know moaning about bar stools seems picky, but unless you work in Canary Wharf and can get here at lunchtime and not leave, you’re never going to get a table seat. so instead you’re sat on one of those seats that you permentanlty think you’re going to fall off. Slippy, wrong height and generally just make any enjoyment you might have dissappear. Impossible to relax while you’re clinging on for dear life.

Plus, they really need to turn the music down. I know that makes me sound old. But, I firmly believe if you’re not going to dance (and you aren’t in here) then there’s no point playing the music like you’re in a nightclub. What’s the point? Sometimes they get it right, but if it’s too loud, I leave. If i can’t have a conversation with my friends, and I’m falling of my chair before I’ve even ordered, that’s not a good start, is it?

Shame, as the location is great, the staff are nice and the cocktails are pretty good. Maybe I should come back in the summer and sit outside.

I’ve seen a lot of bad reviews for this place elsewhere on the internet, but I didn’t have a bad experience when I went here for my birthday in 2008. In fact, the opposite was true.

Granted the food was expensive, but I was expecting that. Considering what we got it was well worth it.

We went on a Sunday afternoon at sunset (around 4 pm), and there was literally no one else in the place. We got undivided attention from our very good waiter, who made sure our food came out at the right times.

We didn’t bother with a starter and I ordered a large Scottish steak, which arrived cooked exactly how I requested (medium rare). It was moist, tender, and delicious. My partner had a burger, which was cooked as he requested and served without salad or sauce, also as he requested. We enjoyed the chips as well.

But dessert really was the crowning point as we decided to go for something a bit unusual and got a sort of chocolate molasses pie. It was utterly heavenly and well worth every penny we paid for the whole meal.

I think ultimately, if you go at the right time, you’ll get good service and good food. The right time seems to be early on a Sunday evening.

If you are looking for somewhere nice to meet someone for a drink, then you could do worse than suggest smollenskys. Especially as it is so easy to find as soon as you come out of the station.
I had a nice meal here a while back, and couldn’t really fault the the staff or service. That said, we were there on a week night when it wasn’t busy at all. It would have been pretty poor if we hadn’t have received good attention because there were only a few other tables full at the same time. The food was lovely, I can reccommend the steak and the dessert list looked great. However it did seem a bit pricey. I know it’s canary wharf and we’re in london, but the bill was a little bit more than what i would have expected. Still worth a shot.

This is a nice little place right in the middle of all the offices. Evenings become quiet pleasant, and you have the option of taking ur drinks glass, and walk upto the docks, or sit in open-air, or on a couch inside. Music and crowd is great !

Smollensky’s is probably the first thing you see when you get out of canary wharf station so its a good place for a meeting point for friends. best to visit during the day for a nice drink.
not too pricey but i found the staff very busy and rushed they didnt put there full effort into serving so we decided to leave!

The food is generally good and certainly better than most at Canary Wharf.
The service was reasonably attentive although we found it unacceptable that having made a booking we should then be asked to leave our table after only an hour (!) and while we were still drinking our coffee
Finally when will restaurants learn that adding service and then leaving the bill is treating your clients with contempt?
It is a shame that good food should be undermined by poor management.

Smollensky’s is more an easy place to find in Canary Wharf rather than an ultimate destination. Its right next to the tube station by the 12 clocks and on Reuter’s Square. On a fine day there’s some useful tables outside but the fill fast. And inside theres some perchy tables along by the bar.

The place gets rammed in the evenings as the various skyscraper office blocks empty. It plays music pretty loud too, which creates energy but is probably also aimed to ensure urgency and turnover.

After a spell in this bar, its worth venturing further afield in Canary Wharf to some of the other quieter bars. Great people watching spot or for one drink after work.